The Common Enemy
by bitezombiesback
Summary: Garrus and Shepard are not fast-friends. He's a player and she's a b***h. Watch them butt-heads as they try to save the universe together when they can barely be in the same room. Language and sex.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Sometimes it felt like a waste of his life. He'd done what his father wanted. He was a C-Sec officer, and he was making the Citadel a better place by uncovering thugs and dealers. It wasn't a glorious life, but at least it was something to be proud of.

Garrus Vakarian did not feel proud. He felt empty. At the moment, actually, he felt aroused, but in a very empty sort of manner. He stared down at the turian woman beneath him as he thrust into her roughly. She seemed to be enjoying herself. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her breathing was labored as she ran her sharp talons down his back plates.

He never really got much pleasure from these encounters. Their only purpose served to help him relieve stress. He imagined they could be more enjoyable if he found his mates more attractive. Not that they were ugly, and in fact the woman he was with right now could have easily passed as a model. Something about their character... He needed to stop going to bars and start looking for mates in normal places instead. Not one of the bar-flies he'd met had ever had a winning personality.

He shifted, and the change of his angle proved to be too much for the woman. She called out, closing tightly around him as she came. He followed her with a deep hum.

"That was... wow," she panted, grinning at him as he rolled off her.

"Yeah," he replied vacantly, collecting his discarded clothes from the floor.

She sat up to look at him.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to get to work," he lied as he strapped on his armor.

So what if he was a bit of a player? He didn't lead women on, and he was always upfront with his intentions. He'd told her in Purgatory exactly what he wanted from her. If this woman thought he'd been interested in more than a sweaty hour with her, she was fooling herself.

"Oh." She sounded disappointed. "See you later, I guess?"

"Enjoy your day," he replied - his favored C-Sec parting-pleasantry.

The words were a habit. They came across coldly to her, but Garrus didn't particularly care. He exited her apartment without so much as a backward glance.

* * *

"Hey - cut that out. You can't smoke that here."

The asari took the glass pipe from her mouth and exhaled smoke into his face.

"Oh, it's 'the man!' Trying to take my freedom. Go ahead, put your hands on me, Blue! I dare you."

Great, another hippy. Garrus sighed.

"Look, this ends in two ways: you get the hell out of my sector, or I write you a ticket," he reasoned wearily.

She glared at him, but shoved the pipe into her purse and walked away muttering about cops.

"Enjoy your day," he muttered after her.

* * *

Lately he'd been rummaging through the files on the turian Spectre Saren instead of filling out his paperwork. He hated filling out form after meaningless form, but failed to convince himself that leading an investigation of Saren would be more than just a distraction from his menial desk work. So when Executor Pallin marched into his office and told him Nihlus was dead, putting him in charge of the investigation, Garrus was stunned. Finally, something meaningful to do.

The investigation proved very taxing on him. For two nights he poured over the same files, read the report about Eden Prime over and over. There simply weren't enough details, but the fact that Nihlus had turned up dead raised more than a few questions. The Spectre's actions were highly confidential, and it became obvious that he'd need more than the few days he was allotted to look into the case.

It sounded like he'd need to speak with Commander Shepard, the woman who found Nihlus' body, but Pallin wanted him to remain unbiased, and said Shepard's opinion would color how he pursued the case. That was bullshit. If Shepard and her two crew members were the only people there at Eden Prime when Nihlus had died, then how was he supposed to figure out what had happened without talking to them?

There were enough holes in Saren's history to leave Garrus suspicious anyway. It had all been hidden, swept under the rug. No one went through the trouble to hide something unless they didn't want it found, and there were clearly a lot of things Saren didn't want anyone digging up. All this added to a bullet in the back of Nihlus' head? Garrus knew Saren was guilty.

He never got the chance to prove it, as the investigation was called off. Garrus was seething and demanded to continue his work, but Pallin refused him. The Counsil was about to hold the meeting that would decide Saren's fate, but Garrus still didn't have any evidence to give them. Saren would be acquitted. The thought had Garrus grinding his teeth.

"Saren's hiding something. Give me more time! Stall them."

"Stall the Counsil?" Pallin shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous. Your investigation is over, Garrus."

Hell if that would stop him. He turned to glare at the nosy human who'd listened in on the conversation. He had an automatic aversion to the species that wasn't quite outright racism. The First Contact War hadn't exactly put the two races in kinship. The things looked weird to him, with strange filaments protruding out of their skulls and soft, gel-like bodies that looked incapable of standing upright. Not to mention their colors: ugly shades of pink and brown. A turian with coloring like that would probably never find a mate.

He almost snapped at her. Then the red caught his attention. No, not red - auburn. Like the color of changing leaves. He stared at her hair stupidly for a moment before his mind registered the rest of her. He knew this human's face, or hair to be more accurate, and the ironic timing of her arrival was not lost on him. Finally he regained his composure as the woman waited patiently.

"Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren."

The red-headed human nodded. "I gathered. It seems your investigation didn't go well."

There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice. A pang of irritation hit him as he defended himself.

"Saren's a Spectre. Most of his activities are classified. I couldn't find anything solid, but I know he's up to something." He growled. "Like you humans say, I feel it in my gut."

"I think the Counsil's ready for us, Commander," another human interjected.

Garrus shot the man a look of annoyance for interrupting before his eyes went back to the human in front of him. Her arms were folded in front of her, suggesting she was stand-offish - not that he knew what that body language would suggest in her own culture. Perhaps that stance was polite and reserved when coming from a human.

"Good luck, Shepard. Maybe they'll listen to _you_."

She clipped his shoulder as she strode past him - no, definitely not polite or reserved.

"Later, Bird."

"Enjoy your day."

She cast a quizzical look at him over her shoulder, flooding the poor turian with chagrin at his automatic response, but kept walking.

* * *

(A/N): Not entirely sure where this fic is going, so give me some input! I'll happily credit your ideas. What sort of story do you want this to be?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Garrus was crouched behind a half-wall in Dr. Michel's medical clinic as the thugs surrounded her. He targeted one in his scope and his finger hovered over the trigger, waiting for the right moment.

"I didn't tell anyone, I swear!" Michel was half-sobbing.

The thug leered at her. "That was smart, Doc. Now, if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut, or we'll -"

The doors opened behind him and he glanced over his shoulder. Dammit, there was Shepard, about to blow his cover.

"Who are you?" the thug yelled at her, grabbing the doctor and putting his pistol to her head.

There it was, the right moment. He pulled the trigger and the thug fell to the ground. Dr. Michel shrieked as Shepard gave Garrus a questioning look before running to cover with the interrupting human from before and a new companion, a krogan.

They finished off the remaining thugs quickly, and Garrus stood to glare at his newfound rival.

"What the hell was that? I was finally making some progress before you came charging in."

She gave him the most insincere shrug she could muster.

"Doing things my way. It took you how many days to find this lead? I've been on the Citadel for two hours, and here I am, Bird."

He took a deep breath, trying not to shoot her, and walked over to the doctor.

"Dr. Michel, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm okay," she replied weakly. "Thanks to you. All of you."

Her eyes lingered on Garrus intimately, and he repressed a shudder. Ew. Human.

"I know those men threatened you, but if you tell us who they worked for, we can protect you."

She wrang her hands nervously as she confessed. "They worked for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian."

"The one I told you about, Shepard," the krogan rumbled.

"Time we paid Fist a visit," the commander smirked, cracking her knuckles.

Garrus stared at her. "What? No way. This is my investigation, and you don't get to butt in uninvited."

"Does C-Sec have regulations against a pretty lady who just wants to visit Chora's Den?" she asked, mock-innocently.

He stammered something unintelligible, and she laughed at him.

"That's what I thought. Go home, Bird. Let the big kids take care of it."

"I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you."

He didn't like it, but this was his investigation, and he wasn't about to hand it over to some cocky, little, know-it-all -

"You're a turian. Why do you want to bring him down so badly?"

The way she said "turian," like the word was beneath her, made his jaw clench.

"Saren is a traitor to the Counsil and a _disgrace_ to my people!" he spat, glaring defiantly.

Her eyebrows raised. "Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers, Bird. Welcome aboard."

* * *

They'd gotten Fist - the krogan, Wrex, particularly enjoyed killing him - and tracked down the quarian, who gave them an audio clip of Saren that could be used to convince the Counsil of his guilt. The odd quintuplet of the two humans, a krogan, a quarian, and a turian turned several heads as they made their way to the Counsil.

Much to Garrus' displeasure, the human spoke to them. It made sense; she'd already spoken to them once, and they'd be more willing to trust her with her captain and her ambassador standing behind her. No one was standing behind him. He'd done everything by himself, until the damn human had showed up. And now here she was, presenting _his_ investigation to the Counsil.

His blood seethed as they listened to the recording.

"This evidence is irrefutable," the turian Counsilor announced. "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status, and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes."

The Asari Counsilor nodded. "There is only one way to stop Saren that doesn't require fleets or armies."

"No!" the turian Counsilor protested. "It's too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres."

Wait, what?

"It was a _turian_ Spectre who betrayed this Counsil, and it was a _human_ who exposed him," Shepard pointed out, putting her hand on her hip. "I've earned this."

The Counsilors looked at one another for a moment before nodding in agreement, syncing their omni-tools.

"Commander Shepard, step forward. It is the decision of the Counsil that you will be granted all the powers and priviledges of the Special Tactics and Reconaissance branch of the Citadel."

His mind went blank as the Counsilors continued to drone on about the responsibilities and honors of the Spectres. _This_ human? This _human_? He couldn't believe it. Humanity, the newest members in the Citadel, were being graced with Spectre status? And Shepard would be representing them? Bullshit, all of it.

"I've been ready for this since Eden Prime," Shepard muttered to her captain, who held back a grin at the snide remark.

Garrus scowled through the rest of the meeting.

After it was over, he followed her out to the docking bay where she spoke with her ambassador and her captain for a few minutes. He hung back with the krogan, the quarian, and the other human. The human and quarian, Kaiden and Tali, made small talk, but Garrus and Wrex were silent.

She came back to them after the other humans had walked away. There was a surprised look on her face and an eager light in her eyes.

"Well, guys, looks like Anderson's stepping down and letting me run the Normandy." Her voice was filled with glee, and she looked like an excited child as she practically jumped up and down. "I have my own ship!"

"Congratulations, Commander!" Kaiden smiled, almost putting his hand on her shoulder before awkwardly changing his mind and pulling it back.

"So, what?" Wrex asked.

The krogan was very direct. Didn't let Shepard be the one in charge of the conversation. Garrus could almost get to like the guy.

"Now I build a team to help me take down Saren."

She looked at them, waiting for a volunteer. No one spoke.

"Kaiden! Glad to have you on board," she said half-sarcastically, grabbing him by the elbow and dragging the surprised human to her side. "Well? Wrex? Tali?"

"I'm in," the krogan replied.

"Y-yeah," Tali said, hesitantly. "This isn't quite what I had in mind for my pilgrimage, but it sounds a lot more important."

"Great! Let's go, then."

She pulled the three up the Normandy's ramp.

"You're forgetting something."

She turned to stare down at him, a mildly irritated look on her face.

"I wasn't inviting you, Bird."

"Too damn bad." He strode up to her at the base of the ramp. "I want to stop Saren too."

"It's my ship," she replied blankly.

"You didn't show up until my investigation had been overturned, so I couldn't ask you questions. Then you finally got there, and forced your way in, turning it into _your_ investigation. Then you presented the findings to the Counsil, and they made you a Spectre." He walked up the ramp until he was face to face with her, only inches away. Her hair was tickling his mandibles, and he noticed she was holding her breath. "You owe me this much, Shepard."

She pushed him back, not hard enough to make him lose his balance, but not softly either. "Fine. You're in. Piss me off once, and you're done. Right out the air-lock. I'm pretty sure birds don't fly in space."

At the time, he hadn't intended to make that a challenge.

* * *

(A/N): The more you poke me, the more I write. I pay close attention to my reviews, so let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks for all the support!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Garrus didn't hate her. It wasn't an overwhelming urge to kill her or watch her suffer. But something about the way she strutted about the ship like she owned the place - which he hated to admit she did - set his blood on fire. In a bad way.

He didn't want to hurt her, but he did want to take her down a peg. For such a small human, she was far too arrogant. And he absolutely _loathed_ her nickname for him and the many horrendous metaphors she created with it.

Maybe he'd do something to take her down a peg. She seemed awfully proud of her hair, and he had to admit the color was nice, despite the rest of the ugly traits that came with her race. He could wait until she fell asleep and cut off her tresses, or put paint on them. Surely that would make her a little less smug.

He contemplated the many way s he could injure Shepard's pride as he worked to repair the Mako she'd trashed on her last excursion. He was currently underneath the vehicle, with just his legs sticking out, when he heard her voice.

"Wrex."

"Shepard."

A large clank, which he assumed was a headbutt of comradery between the two. They did this every time she came down here.

"I almost felt that one," Wrex rumbled with some amusement. "Maybe you'll grow a quad after all."

She scoffed. "I've got more quad than the entire Urdnot clan combined!"

"If you'd said Wreyloc, I might have believed you."

They laughed for a moment before something caught her attention, and he could hear her move away from Wrex.

"Aww, look, Ashley! He's nesting!"

Anger flooded through Garrus, but he ignored the taunt, continuing his work.

"I'm glad you're here, Commander. I wanted to speak to you about a... situation that's been bothering me." Ashley's voice was low and concerned. A human might not have understood her at that distance. Garrus, however, heard every word. "I know things are different on the Normandy, but I'm concerned about the aliens, Vakarian and Wrex. With all due respect, Commander, should they have full access to the ship?"

If he wasn't mad before, he was now.

"Gunnery Chief Williams, what in particular about them are you uncomfortable with?"

Ashley gave an uneasy cough. "They're aliens, Ma'am. They don't have humanity's best interests in mind."

"Let's get something straight, Williams: if you feel nervous about something going on here, I encourage you to speak to me about it. However, if the only thing bothering you is your own racism, don't waste either of our time. I trust my crew. You don't have to, but you'd damn well better keep your mouth shut about it if you don't. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good day, Soldier."

Garrus was shocked. He'd expected an entirely different reaction from Shepard. Her complete intolerance of prejudice caught him off-guard. He realized that he'd been so focused on the conversation he'd stopped working and, with slight annoyance at himself for caring at all what the humans thought of him, resumed his calibrations on the Mako.

"_Hey!_"

"Agh!"

He jumped, hitting his head on the Mako. Shepard had snuck up and crouched down a few feet away from him. She grinned as he glared at her.

"How's my Mako coming along, Bird?"

"Considerably slower since recent findings indicate your mechanic has a concussion," he growled. "How the hell did you do so much damage to this thing?"

"It's not like I was trying to."

There wasn't much humor in her reply, if any. Had he struck a nerve?

"You should let someone else drive next time," he suggested, trying to sound casual. "Obviously you're no good at it."

He was rewarded by a flicker of irritation crossing her features.

"And I don't suppose you're up to the task?"

"Really, anyone will do. Just not you. Your driving was on the verge of jeopardizing the mission, according to those who saw it in action. I haven't personally, but the damage to the Mako definitely suggests that's an accurate description."

She snarled and stood, storming out of the cargo hold.

"Double-time on those repairs. Have it ready by the time we get to Feros or it's your ass in the fire."

He smirked to himself. _That_ was satisfying. Her cool and collected attitude had been driving him up the wall, so getting under her skin proved to be highly entertaining to Garrus. He resolved to do it more often.

* * *

The Thorian was unlike anything Garrus had ever seen or heard of before. The plant, as big as a building, vomited up creatures that resembled green asari, which they were forced to gun down as they hacked away at the Thorian's support structures. Finally the thing collapsed, surrendering a last asari, this one of normal coloring.

She told them how she had been a loyal follower to Matriarch Benezia, who had become indoctrinated to Saren's plot after trying to take the turian down. She too had become indoctrinated, then used as no more than a tool for the Thorian. She said that she wanted to help them take down Saren.

Garrus watched Shepard hesitate, unsure whether or not to believe the asari, before agreeing to let her go. The decision startled him. It wasn't the one he'd have made.

"You shouldn't have let her go," he mused as they ascended the crumbling staircase back to Zhu's Hope. He was polishing a bit of Thorian goo off his sniper rifle as he walked, his head tilted downward, but he watched her face from his peripheral vision.

"Why not, Bird?"

Garrus grimaced internally, wishing she'd stop calling him that. He knew better than to tell her it bothered him, though; bothering him seemed, at times, to be her sole purpose for existence. If he asked her to stop, he would be effectively destroying any hope that she would eventually forget about it. They rose up to ground-level and began the short walk through the dead grass and rubble back to the colony.

"She freely admitted she was indoctrinated. What makes you think she changed just because the Thorian is dead? Seems kind of soft to let her go just because there's a small chance she's not crazy anymore."

This time he looked at her face, hiding his satisfied grin. That remark would surely irk her, and he waited for her response. The look on her face was hard, focused, and she did not meet his eyes. She was looking ahead, staring intently at something. Without a word, she snatched the rifle from his hands and aimed, shooting.

A geth sniper he hadn't noticed until that moment fell to the ground, and he stared at Shepard with a mixture of awe and surprise. She shoved the gun, smoking lightly, back into his still-frozen arms.

"You are a young hot-head who thinks he knows all there is to know about the world," she muttered in reply, walking forward again as he trailed after her, still stunned.

"You don't know me at all," he replied, somewhat dazed.

"I've seen your kind before. Plenty of humans I knew growing up who were just like you. Wanted to be cops to stop all the 'bad guys.' You don't realize that good and bad aren't exclusive. Every person, every action, carries both. Some day you'll get that, hopefully sooner than later."

Her tone was placid and weary. It made Garrus uncomfortable.

"You can't be more than a few years older than me," he protested, trying to snap her out of this strange state of reverie.

Shepard turned back to him and gave him a sad, tired smile as if to say, "If only you knew what I've done."

Instead, she said plainly, "War ages people."

She continued walking, but his feet didn't move as he contemplated her words. She cast another glance over her shoulder, now several paces ahead of him.

"Start flapping, Bird," she called back to him, a mischievous grin playing on her face. "I don't have all day."

The sudden changes in her mood had just about given him whiplash, but he hurried up to keep pace with her. There was definitely a lot about Shepard that he didn't know.

He hoped he wouldn't have to find out.

* * *

(A/N): Reviews, glorious reviews! This chapter took all day (and a few beers) to write, and I hope all the extra attention I gave it helped polish it up nicely.

Layla12: I love that idea of them doing frequent sparring matches! I had them spar together in my other story, In the End of the World, so I'm not positive I'll use it. However, I really like the thought of Garrus starting to respect Shep, even if he simultaneously can't stand her. That gave me the idea where she steals his gun and snipes something he didn't even see, which makes him start to realize that she's actually earned her rank and Spectre status. Thank you for that lovely input, it gave me a lot of ideas!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

He realized keenly one morning after a particularly interesting dream, that in the two weeks he'd been on the Normandy, he hadn't had sex once. Of course he'd gone longer than that before, but that situation was easily corrected in a crowded place such as the Citadel. Here on the small ship, however, a few problems stood in the way of his release.

He didn't want a relationship. He only wanted a way to periodically calm his libido, and he doubted that an arrangement of casual sex with another crew member on a military ship would be a good idea. Even if this hadn't been an issue, he needed only to look around the ship to remind himself: he was the only turian here. And unless he planned on rolling around with one of those floppy-looking humans (or Wrex), he was shit out of luck until the next time they docked.

He hadn't even considered Tali.

She approached him one day in the mess hall, sitting across the table from him.

"Hello, Garrus."

"Tali," he'd responded, his mouth still full of dehydrated meat.

They sat in silence for a few moments, and he looked up at her.

"You're not eating. Did you want to talk about something?"

She shook her head. "No, not really. It's just sort of lonely being the only quarian on a human ship. I wanted some companionship, and thought maybe you would too."

He shrugged. "Sure, why not? I'm guessing you quarians are a more friendly lot than turians. I've never really been lonely before. We're raised to be self-sufficient, so we don't rely on others much. That being said, I don't mind the company."

"I can't believe it doesn't bother you to be alone," she murmured. "I'd rather be with someone I didn't like than be by myself." She caught his expression and hurried to explain herself. "No offense intended, of course. I have nothing at all against you."

He laughed quietly. "And I, you."

"So, do turians get lonely in other ways?"

"What do you mean?"

Her voice was a bit too casual when she replied. "You know, for contact."

His brow plates rose in shock.

"Oh. That. Well, yeah."

"So do quarians." He could almost hear the mischievous smile in her voice.

Wasn't she still practically a child? She had only just started her pilgrimage a few months ago.

"Look, Tali, you seem very nice, so I don't want to let this conversation get out of hand... I don't want to start any kind of romantic relationship while I'm on the Normandy. Anything that could create tension between crew members is... probably not a good idea. But if you need a friend to talk to, I'll be around."

"Oh. Okay. Uh, thank you, Garrus."

He couldn't see beneath her suit, so he didn't know whether she was embarrassed or not. She stood up to walk away, but her voice still sounded friendly.

"Talk to you later."

Well, that was awkward.

* * *

His hand rose to rap lightly on her door. He'd drawn the short straw, so he was the one who had to check on her. Most of the rest of the crew members were too scared.

When the response to his knocking was an infuriated, "_WHAT_?" that was painfully loud, even from behind the door, he understood their fear.

"Hey, Shepard, you've been in there for a while, and some of us were getting worried."

He heard her groan. "Fine. Come in."

He opened the door and saw her sprawled out face down on her bed, tangled in sheets. His jaw went slack.

"Have you been sleeping this whole time?"

"Yeah," she moaned into her pillow, obviously still tired.

"Shepard, it's been three days."

"Five more minutes?" she bargained pathetically, her eyes still closed.

He shook his head at her. How had she slept for so long?

"I think you should get up now. Half the crew thinks you're dead, and the other half is taking bets on the exact number of copies of Fornax you smuggled in there."

He ducked, fully prepared for projectiles, but to his surprise she only muttered back, "Tell them sixteen and get the hell out."

He smirked. "Really? Sixteen?"

"No. Two hundred eighty-three. Now get out."

Obviously she was too tired to care about anything other than sleep, so he sighed, marching to her bed. She had already passed out again. She was still sprawled with her limbs at awkward angles. Her mouth was slightly open as she breathed deeply, the threat of drool a very real possibility. He stared down at her, shaking his head. How could she be so weak and so powerful at the same time? He took a risk and grabbed her by the ankles, pulling her off the mattress.

As soon as her skin touched the cold, metal floor, she was conscious and glowing with biotics.

Garrus yelped as she threw a lift at him, bumping against the ceiling and walls in the small cabin. Kaiden rushed in at the sound.

"What happened? Is everything okay?"

He let out a cry as he was also caught in the lift, and the two bumped together awkwardly, limbs flailing.

"Get _off_, Alenko!"

"Argh! What in the world...?"

Shepard rubbed sleep out of her eyes and stared up at them. "Did one of you try to wake me up?"

"He did it!" they yelled in unison, pointing at one another as they cartwheeled through the air above her head. She ducked to avoid a boot to the face.

"Shepard, help me down and I'll toss Alenko out the airlock for you."

"_What_? I just came in to help when I heard someone screaming like a little girl."

"Turians don't scream."

"I think I'm going to be sick..."

Shepard grabbed a change of clothes and exited her room, throwing a casual, "You both deserve it," over her shoulder on the way out, ignoring their panicked protests and shrieks.

When the lift field finally collapsed, dropping Garrus on top of Kaiden with a resounding crash, Garrus stormed out of the cabin in search of the commander.

She was on the observation deck speaking to Liara, the asari they'd found at the dig site about a week ago. They both looked very serious. Garrus didn't care.

"The hell was that for, Shepard? I was just checking up on you."

"Stop squawking, Bird," she chided. "We're in the middle of a conversation."

"You slept for three full days. How is that not important?" he demanded.

"That's what we're talking about. Liara thinks the reason I slept so long is because of the beacon on Eden Prime - well, more specifically, because she helped me make sense of the vision. All that strain on my mind wore me out."

"So, does it make sense to you now?"

She shrugged. "It's some sort of warning, but I don't understand what it's about. We got a comm from the Counsil while I was sleeping though - there's a Salarian STG team on a planet called Virmire who may have information about Saren. I guess the message was mostly static, so it's not really clear what's going on, but they may be in trouble. We'll need a ground team to investigate."

He sighed. "Fine. But let me sit down for a few minutes. I'm still dizzy from that damn lift field."

"Lift field?" Liara asked, confused.

"I have it recorded on my omni-tool, check it out!" Shepard grinned, motioning the asari closer as Garrus groaned and headed quickly away from the laughter that followed after him.

* * *

(A/N): I'm not overly fond of the Tali romances. She seems like a little girl until the third game, in my opinion. Weird for Shepard and Garrus, who act so much older than she does, to be interested in her. Yell at me for dissing the GarrusxTali and ShepardxTali if you want. Sorry for the somewhat boring chapter, hopefully the sparse bits of humor made up for it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hope you all like this chapter. I finally caved and wrote what you've all been begging for. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 5

Virmire had been more taxing than any of them expected. The assault on Saren's base had strained Wrex, as they were forced to kill the many indoctrinated krogan Saren had cured of the genophage. Shepard had almost managed to kill Saren... Almost. And to top off the crap that was their mission, Shepard hadn't been able to save Ashley or the Salarian STG captain, Kirrahe. They now had their next mission on the agenda, Ilos, but the spirits of the crew were at an all-time low. This was largely due to Shepard, whose anxiety and grief were etched clearly on her face.

It had been quite a shitty day, and more than anything else right now, Garrus needed a drink. He entered the lounge in time to see Shepard, sunken into the couch, emptying a bottle of whisky by herself. She gulped down the alcohol and stared at the empty bottle for a moment before leaning forward and throwing it hard at the closed metal shutters where it smashed on impact, raining glass shards onto the floor. He watched the back of her head warily as she collapsed back onto the couch.

"Shepard?" he faltered.

She didn't look at him, didn't move. He waited for a full minute, and when she still didn't respond, he sighed and made his way around the back of the couch. She was staring straight ahead, as if she could see through the shutters and into the void of space. She didn't look at him when she responded.

"You weren't supposed to see that."

"See you drinking alone or defacing Alliance property?"

She snorted and he grabbed a bottle of turian brandy from the bar, sitting down on the other side of the couch. She eyed him momentarily as he took a swig, and he caught her look.

"What? Am I bothering you?"

She shook her head and returned her stare to the shutters.

"You know, the view is better if you open the blinds."

She shot him a withering glare and he smirked in her direction, taking another drink. It had been a long mission, and they both deserved a bit of a rest.

"Do you have any big regrets?" she asked him suddenly.

He turned over her words carefully. "Yes and no. Before I met you, I had an opportunity to apply to be a Spectre. It wasn't something my father would have agreed with, and I didn't pursue it. I'll always wonder what it would have been like. But at the same time, if I'd been a Spectre, I probably wouldn't have helped you stop Saren."

She gave him a blank look. "That's _it_?"

"I guess so," he shrugged. "Turians are taught to own their decisions, no matter what they are. We don't see a point in regret, because it won't change what has already happened."

He watched her carefully as she considered his words.

"Shepard, you did what you could. The circumstances forced you to make an impossible decision. Ashley never would have forgiven you if you'd have saved her and left Kaiden behind."

"I think maybe turians have it right," she replied slowly. "Can't change the past, so you may as well try to forget it happened."

"That's not exactly how we -"

He broke off as she leaned in close to him, staring up into his eyes. He met her gaze carefully and couldn't force himself to look away. One small hand with too many fingers reached up and brushed gently across his cheek.

"Shepard..."

"Distract me," she whispered.

His mouth suddenly felt dry. "That's probably not... a good..."

But his traitorous hand had reached up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear, and the feel of her soft locks on his talon was even more satisfying than he had imagined. He'd never been so close to her before, except on the battle field. He'd never taken the time to breathe in her scent and notice how warm she felt.

She swung a leg over him and deftly pulled herself into his lap, placing her hands at the crest of his neck where she traced a swirling pattern into his thick skin with her fingertips. His hands were unsure where to settle, and he left them hovering in the air a few inches above her waistline.

"You're my CO, Shepard. We can't -"

"Are you telling me you don't want this?" she almost purred, leaning down and gently moving her lips at the hollow of his throat.

Garrus let out a shaky breath and unconsciously leaned his head back to give her better access. Suddenly it didn't matter that she was his boss, and even the fact that she was a human was starting to become entirely irrelevent to him. Turian women didn't have lips, and definitely couldn't mimic the amazing sensations her mouth was creating on his neck.

"You've been drinking." His voice was thick as he tried to focus. "And so have I. We really shouldn't do this."

It proved to be too much for him when her teeth grazed over his soulder. Before he knew it, his left arm was wrapped around her back, pulling her body flush against his own while his right hand buried itself in her hair, and he kissed her deeply. She let out a small gasp into his mouth and his grip in her hair tightened.

"I can't lead you on," he managed to hiss as she worked quickly against the straps on the chest-piece of his armor.

"Shut up," she growled in reply.

"Listen to me." He grabbed her hands, holding them still, and she shot him a dangerous look. "I don't want to give you the impression that I'm interested in a relationship."

"What part of this emotional breakdown gave you that impression?" she scoffed. "For the record, we're not in great standing. I do not like you. All I want is a decent fuck to make me forget what we've already been through and the hell we're about to walk into."

"Glad the feeling's mutual," he sighed in relief, releasing her deft hands.

As his chest piece fell to the floor and her sharp nails raked over the newly exposed terrain of his abdomen, something inside him shifted uncomfortably. Something about her words bothered him. He didn't want a relationship with her, but something she'd said...

He quite abruptly forgot about anything other than the hot tongue that had taken over the job her fingertips had started. She worked her way back up to his neck and bit down hard, the mix of pleasure and pain drawing a quiet moan from him. The look on her face at his sound was almost triumphant.

She stood, and he stared at her questioningly, disappointed.

"Take off the rest," she ordered, the note of command she usually saved for the battlefield present in her voice.

Good soldier as he was, he stood and stripped to the buff. Shepard eyed what she had to work with, then smiled appreciatively, allowing her hips to sway as she slowly approached him, pushing him down to the couch again. For a human, she was actually fairly attractive, he noted. Broad shoulders, a thin waist, and full hips. Soft flesh, but with hard muscle beneath. She threw off her shirt, and he noticed that even her skin color wasn't as unappealing. Not a pink or brown color, but more of an eggshell. Very light. Still alien to Garrus, but not as ugly.

"Would you like to see more?" she teased, leaning close to him with her hands on his knees.

He nodded, immobilized by the unfamiliarity of the situation. Her pants dropped to the ground and she kicked them off, looking back to him.

"Keep going," he urged.

"Ask nicely."

"Please." His sub-harmonics were taut and filled with need.

Shepard smirked at his desperation, but finished removing her underclothes and stood naked before him. Definitely not bad, he decided. For a human.

She knelt down on the ground in front of him and stroked his length gently, experimentally. He leaned to the touch, his breath staggering. He caught the devilish look in her eyes as she watched his expressions, continuing the motion with her hand.

"Shepard..."

"Commander," she corrected, then took him almost entirely in her mouth.

"Commander," he gasped, one hand flying to the back of her head and the other gripping the couch firmly.

"Much better," she breathed.

She raised herself, fingers trailing from his thighs to his chest, and sat in his lap again. She felt warm and wet against him, and he struggled not to thrust forward at her touch. As if reading his mind, she ground her hips against his. The delicious friction from the movement was almost unbearable.

"Have you ever been with a human before?" she murmured, hair falling in her face as she watched herself slide against him, covering him in her wetness.

"No," he admitted breathlessly.

"No, what?"

He caught on quickly. "No, Ma'am." A few more smooth movements against him - he was really starting to enjoy the feel of human skin - and she sat up, grasping him tightly in one hand, and lowered herself onto him.

He fought back a cry, realizing how close he already was to release. He watched her face as she slid down on him again, closing her eyes and biting her lip.

"Have you ever been with a turian?"

"Once," she panted, continuing her slow movements. "Nihlus. If I'd ever let a man break my heart, it would have been him. Real shame what happened. He had the most beautiful - oh, _fuck_ - clan markings."

His hands had wandered to her breasts, which had begun to bounce as her pace quickened. The curious touch as his palms grazed her nipples had her almost whimpering.

"What are my orders, Commander?"

"Just... fuck me!" she cried, and he shoved her off, pushing her into the ground and burying himself inside her.

He swung her legs up onto his shoulders and did exactly as she'd requested. His pace was faster than hers. One of her hands shot out to find his, pressing it to her breast and holding it there tightly, while she used the other to rub herself as he entered her urgently over and over.

As the orgasm hit her, he watched her mouth open in a silent but barely contained scream. She tightened around him, and he finished with a few hard thrusts, groaning her name.

He pulled away and collapsed beside her on the lounge floor, spent.

"Hell if you didn't give Nihlus a run for his money," she said between breaths.

He chuckled. "And you were equally satisfying." For a human, he decided not to add.

But maybe humans weren't so gross after all.

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(A/N): This story is tentatively complete, so make sure to review.


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